A Chain of Musicals: HAIRSPRAY

Posted on January 12, 2012 by David Fick
HAIRSPRAY

To purchase HAIRSPRAY on Blu-ray, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Dreamgirls, then you might like Hairspray.

While Hairspray is a considerably lighter show than Dreamgirls, the two have some commonality: race relations and music play a huge role in each musical, there is a crossover in some of the musical styles used in each respective score and, more superficially, both shows star a plus-size leading lady to great effect.

Hairspray is the musical version of the classic John Waters film starring Ricki Lake as plump, wannabe TV dancer, Tracy Turnblad. As in the film, Tracy wins a role on The Corny Collins Show and becomes a hit. But how will things turn out when she tries to get the show racially integrated? Will everyone still love her? Or will everyone turn their backs on her (as they do Huey, in Memphis, the show we featured in this column a few days ago)? Will Velma Von Tussle, the show’s racist producer, burst Tracy’s Bubble? And will true love conquer all if teenage heartthrob, Link Larkin, has to pick between Velma’s daughter, Amber, and Tracy? Highlights include “Welcome to the Sixties”, “I Know Where I’ve Been”, “Without Love”, “You Can’t Stop the Beat” and “I Can Hear the Bells”.

Hairspray might appear light and fluffy on the surface, but it has a core that belies its shiny exterior. The show really comes into its own as the racial integration plot gains momentum and the emotional climax of that particular narrative strand, the anthemic “I Know Where I’ve Been”, is incredibly moving. It’s perhaps the part of the adaptation that moves furthest from the style of the original film – but that’s why the musical works. Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan’s adaptation works well and keeps the piece moving – although I’ve yet to be convinced that having Motormouth Maybelle speak in rhyming couplets justifies itself as a mode of dramatic language in this show – and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have yet to top themselves in creating a musical for the Broadway stage: Fame Becomes Me‘s bits and pieces were entertaining enough, but it was only a revue, and Catch Me If You Can was disappointing. Perhaps the pair need to step out from behind the shadow of the faux musical, as Michael John LaChiusa termed it, and try something truly original.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Hairspray. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

Posted in Marc Shaiman, Mark O' Donnell, Scott Wittman, Thomas Meehan | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Chain of Musicals: DREAMGIRLS

Posted on January 11, 2012 by David Fick
DREAMGIRLS

To purchase DREAMGIRLS on Blu-ray, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Memphis, then you might like Dreamgirls.

The link between these two shows is perhaps one of the clearest we’ve had this month. Memphis and Dreamgirls cover similar thematic territory, with certain points in regard to the history of popular music sung by African-Americans brought to the fore in the narrative of each. Both shows also fierce leading ladies and the creation of Felicia owes something to the influence of Effie and Deena. The other neat little tie between the two shows is that both are loosely based on real-life stories, with the names of those involved altered just enough to avoid the trouble that an outright depiction might have brought.

Dreamgirls is the story of Effie, Deena and Lorrell, three singers with a dream of making it big in the music industry. Effie is the driving force and has the biggest voice of the group and makes all the calls until the shady Curtis Taylor, Jr, takes over management of the group. Taylor starts affairs with both Effie and Deena, then makes Deena lead singer of the group and eventually dismisses a pregnant and moody Effie from the group. Effie’s life falls apart, but she slowly puts things back together… and as that happens, Curtis’s actions come back to haunt him as Deena realises the kind of man he really is. Highlights include “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”, “One Night Only”, “Dreamgirls”, “I Am Changing” and “It’s All Over”.

Dreamgirls might be known to many thanks to the high profile film starring Jennifer Hudson as Effie, Beyonce Knowles as Deena and Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell, with a cast that also included Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx. But before that, Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen’s show was a smash hit on the stage, directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, with an electric Jennifer Holliday as the original Effie. That original stage show is also held together by a great deal more music than what remained in the film – indeed, it is music that holds the stage together and the film never quite negotiated how to bridge the gap between speaking and singing was once almost all of the linking material has been cut and replaced with dialogue. Recent tours have lamentably fiddled with the score to incorporate “Listen” from the film (with a simply awful new set of lyrics), which is a pity. Even so, Dreamgirls has a great score and the show will transport you to the whirlwind era of R&B acts like The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown and Jackie Wilson – without naming a single one of those groups.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Dreamgirls. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

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A Chain of Musicals: MEMPHIS

Posted on January 10, 2012 by David Fick
MEMPHIS

To purchase MEMPHIS on Blu-ray, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like The Boys in the Photograph, then you might like Memphis.

The Boys in the Photograph and Memphis both deal with the effects of prejudice, although in different specific situations, and in both shows there are violent consequences for the characters, with characters getting beaten up close to the end of the first act in both shows. Both shows also feature a score that is heavily influenced by popular music, although this is of course what Memphis is all about.

Set in the 1950s, Memphis introduces us to Huey Calhoun, a character based on Dewey Phillips who was one of the first white DJs to play black music on the radio. Behind the mike and in his daily life, he is something of a hillbilly on amphetamines, but his crazy persona attracts the attention of Felicia Farrell, a singer he met at a black underground Rock and Roll bar called Delray’s. On the segregated streets of Memphis, the pair face a great deal of trouble – but what happens when the opportunity to for both of them to grow their careers into the national arena is what takes us to the final curtain. Highlights include “Everybody Wants to be Black on Saturday Night”, “Love Will Stand When All Else Falls”, “Someday”, “Say a Prayer” and “Change Don’t Come Easy”.

Memphis is a emotional powerhouse of a show. It’s a show that catches you almost off guard. You watch the story, you listen to the songs – and then all of a sudden you’re crying at the end of the first act. Although the second act never quite matches the emotional journey of the first act, the show still offers a fine experience for its audiences. The score by Bon Jovi’s David Bryan works well with Joe DiPietro’s book, although the lyrics aren’t perfectly crafted at times (lots of half-rhymes) and there are times when the are inexplicable lapses in logic when it comes to the line between what’s diegetic and what’s not – a border that has to be negotiated in any musical that deals with performance. Perhaps it is most jarring in the opening number when Felicia, while singing on stage in the number, “Underground”, starts to narrate her life story. Better handled are the appearances of the singers when Huey plays his records, but this remains one aspect of the show that wasn’t interrogated thoroughly enough by its writers. Don’t let that put you off though: with a good cast and a solid staging, as it had in it’s Broadway premiere, Memphis is a solid piece of entertainment.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Memphis. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

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A Chain of Musicals: THE BOYS IN THE PHOTOGRAPH

Posted on January 9, 2012 by David Fick
THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

To purchase the original London Cast Recording of THE BEAUTIFUL GAME, as THE BOYS IN THE PHOTOGRAPH was originally known, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like West Side Story, then you might like The Boys in the Photograph.

The Boys in the Photograph is the reworked version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton’s, The Beautiful Game, Like West Side Story, it deals with two groups in conflict with one another and both shows use dance significantly. (West Side Story uses dance more successfully, of course, but the aspirations are there in The Boys in the Photograph – but the show has never had a visionary director-choreographer like Jerome Robbins to help it along in any of its incarnations.)

The Boys in the Photograph deals with the Catholic-Protestant divide in Northern Ireland, the IRA, a romance that is doomed from the start because of those things (although the new version unsuccessfully tags on a happy ending in the final scene) and – of course – soccer and the way it draws the community we see on stage together. Highlights include “God’s Own Country” and “Let Us Love in Peace”, “Clean the Kit” and “All the Love I Have”. When the show was still The Beautiful Game, there was also “Our Kind of Love”, a song written the first time that Lloyd Webber announced a Phantom of the Opera sequel. When that idea was was abandoned, the song became the centrepiece of The Beautiful Game. When Love Never Dies was eventually written, it was shifted – with new lyrics – back into the realm of the Phantom.

The Boys in the Photograph is the weakest musical we’ve showcased this month. The show was met with mixed reactions in its original version. Reviews for the new version were more positive, though not a set of raves by any means. So this makes it one of those shows that has been revised after its original run, but one which has not managed to surpass the traps of bad lyrics and book problems so as to achieve the total effect of its potential. Even so, its well worth a listen, particularly if you are interested in the craft and discipline of lyric-writing. Sometimes it is easier to learn about something when the mistakes are obvious. In what Elton has written, they most certainly are. (For an in depth, track by track look at the cast album, see here.)

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on The Boys in the Photograph. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

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A Chain of Musicals: WEST SIDE STORY

Posted on January 8, 2012 by David Fick
WEST SIDE STORY

To purchase WEST SIDE STORY on Blu-ray, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Oklahoma!, then you might like West Side Story.

Both Oklahoma! and West Side Story did big things for musical theatre. Oklahoma! made standard an approach to musical theatre that had long been waiting in the wings. West Side Story changed the way that chorus performers were viewed primarily as singers or dancers: suddenly they had to do both, and act too. (That’s not to say that choruses who appeared on stage before didn’t act, but I think it’s fair to say that a greater commitment to characterisation was expected of chorus members as the 1940s moved into the 1950s.) Both shows tell the stories of a split community: in Oklahoma!, your occupation defined you; in West Side Story, it was your race. Both shows also focus hugely on dance as a vehicle for storytelling and characterisation, something that the writer of the book, Arthur Laurents, seemed to forget when he directed the most recent revival of West Side Story on Broadway and cut half of the “Somewhere” ballet.

West Side Story tells the story of Tony, a Jet, and Maria, a sister of one of the rival Sharks gang, who fall in love despite the prejudice that surrounds them. Yes, it’s a Romeo and Juliet story – with a couple of twists along the way, not the least of which is the tragic ending. Highlights include “Something’s Coming”, “Tonight”, “America”, “Cool” and “Somewhere”.

I wonder what the legacy of West Side Story, the debut Broadway show for Stephen Sondheim, working with Leonard Bernstein on the score, might have been without the film version to propel it into the forefront of the public consciousness. What was heralded by critics as a potential milestone for the Broadway musical theatre became a cultural phenomenon when the film was released – and that despite its imperfections. Today people argue about how effective Laurents’s book is because of its made-up slang (some of those exclamations induce unintentional laughter these days), about which version of “America” should be in the stage version (the lyrics for the film are better, but putting the Shark boys on stage distorts the commentary and ruins the asymmetrical structural balance of the characters in the show), about whether the lyrics of “I Feel Pretty” are as bad as Sondheim says they are (I think there are worse offenders in “Tonight”). That said, it is unarguably a classic and holds special places in many a musical theatre fan’s heart and mind.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on West Side Story. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

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A Chain of Musicals: OKLAHOMA!

Posted on January 7, 2012 by David Fick
OKLAHOMA!

To purchase the 1955 Film Soundtrack of OKLAHOMA!, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Annie Get Your Gun, then you might like Oklahoma!.

Annie Get Your Gun and Oklahoma! were both show produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Oklahoma! made standard a new set of norms for the Broadway musical and Annie Get Your Gun was created with that vision in mind, although it isn’t nearly as seamlessly integrated. The two also share a “Wild West”, pioneer country setting and, thus, there are similar flavours in parts of the two scores.

Oklahoma! tells the story of Curly, a cowboy, and Laurey, a farmgirl, who are in love and should be going to the box social together, getting married and living life happily ever after. But some things stand in their way: the menacing farmhand, Jud, and the split between the cattle herding and farming communities on the land that will, by the end of the show, become the state Oklahoma. A subplot tells the tale of playful Ado Annie and her faithful beau, Will Parker, whose coupling is delayed by Ado Annie’s shenanigans with a traveling merchant. Highlights include “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”, “The Surrey with a Fringe on the Top”, “Lonely Room”, “People Will Say We’re in Love” and “Oklahoma”.

Oklahoma!, with its book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Richard Rodgers, is a classic musical and is worthy of its place in musical theatre history and the esteem in which it is held. The storyline so deceptively simple that the show is easy to take for granted. It’s easy to forget – or perhaps not even see at all – that this show is an American allegory with a resonance that underscores every moment of its tight construction. The depth of later Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals is easier to see, with cornerstones like “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, “Something Wonderful” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” adding weight the the respective scores from which they are taken, but when the equivalent number in Oklahoma! is “The Farmer and the Cowman”, it’s easier to miss and dismiss. But that’s part of the genius of Oklahoma!: the thoughts are expressed through the characters in a way that perfectly suits them – and that’s the way it should be.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Oklahoma!. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

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A Chain of Musicals: ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

Posted on January 6, 2012 by David Fick
Ethel Merman in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN
Ethel Merman in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Anything Goes, then you might like Annie Get Your Gun.

Anything Goes and Annie Get Your Gun were both created to suit the talents of Ethel Merman and each was written by the one of the leading composer-lyricists of their time: Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. Both shows have also been revised over the years, Anything Goes more successfully, with Annie Get Your Gun suffering a curate’s egg of a revisal in the hands of Peter Stone (the original book is by Herbert and Dorothy Fields) for the 1999 Broadway revival.

Annie Get Your Gun tells the tale of Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter who gained her fame in a Wild West show during the 1880s, and how she met and married her husband, Frank Butler. The story isn’t historically accurate, but it makes for great entertainment. Highlights include “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “Moonshine Lullaby”, “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun”, “Anything You Can Do” and “An Old-Fashioned Wedding”.

Annie Get Your Gun was written by Irving Berlin, who tackled the show skeptically: he was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to write a score for the then new-trend towards integration in musical theatre. While Annie Get Your Gun is certainly more loosely constructed than its Rodgers and Hammerstein cousins like Oklahoma! and Carousel, Berlin fashioned a score that tells the story well enough (there are some pieces that tend towards the generic) and provided a number of palpable hits. While Merman put a definitive stamp on the role, that’s hasn’t stopped other divas from following in her footsteps: Mary Martin, Dolores Gray, Debbie Reynolds, Kim Criswell, Judy Kaye, Bernadette Peters, Susan Lucci, Reba McEntire, Andrea McArdle and Jane Horrocks have all tackled the role to varying degrees of success. I wonder what Judy Garland might have been like in the film had she been at her best, instead of the run down waif the MGM studios had forced her to become by that time.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Annie Get Your Gun. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

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A Chain of Musicals: ANYTHING GOES

Posted on January 5, 2012 by David Fick

ANYTHING GOES

To purchase the 2011 Broadway Revival Cast Recording of ANYTHING GOES, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Mame, then you might like Anything Goes.

Both Mame and Anything Goes feature scores by iconic composer-lyricists, Jerry Herman and Cole Porter respectively. Both shows have a heady 1930s sensibility, depsite having been written decades apart, and both are held together by the antics of a madcap dame.

Anything Goes takes place on an ocean liner traveling from bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker has stowed away, hoping to win the heart and hand of Hope Harcourt, an heiress whose mother has had her engaged to the stuffy British gentlemen Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Evangelist turned nightclub singer, Reno Sweeney, and “Moonface” Martin, Public Enemy #13, help the pair get together in classic 1930s musical comedy style. Highlights include “You’re the Top”, “Anything Goes”, “Blow, Gabriel, Blow”, “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “Easy to Love”.

Anything Goes is one of Cole Porter’s two best shows, the other being Kiss Me, Kate. While Porter wrote many a great song, many of his other shows are less cohesive and/or haven’t aged well with time. Part of the credit must surely be given to the numerous book-writers who have worked on this show, both when it was first written and when it was freshened up in later years: Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, John Weidman and Timothy Crouse. The show also features one of my favourite Porter songs, “You’re the Top”, a deft piece of work that can stop the show midway through the first act if you’ve got a great Reno and Billy putting it across. Reno, a role originated by Ethel Merman, has been played by several great musical theatre divas, including Patti LuPone, Elaine Paige and, most recently, Sutton Foster in the current Broadway revival (who is best when she’s just playing her take on the role and not consciously trying to channel Ethel Merman, particularly when she’s delivering her dialogue).

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Anything Goes. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

Posted in Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay, John Weidman, PG Wodehouse, Russel Crouse, Timothy Crouse | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Chain of Musicals: MAME

Posted on January 4, 2012 by David Fick

MAME

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of MAME, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Gypsy, then you might like Mame.

Like Gypsy, Mame revolves around a strong, iconic female character, both of whom have been played to great effect by Angela Lansbury. In fact, it’s a movie musical tragedy that Angela Lansbury was passed over for the film version of Mame, a role she originated on stage.

Mame tells the story of eccentric madcap, Mame Dennis, whose nephew, Patrick, is left to her care. Life and love and friendship are never sacrificed by Mame and her passion sees her and Patrick through the Depression with great style. Will there be an emotional price-tag on her way of life? That’s the question Mame will have to face as little Patrick grows up and becomes a man. Highlights include “It’s Today”, “Bosom Buddies”, “We Need a Little Christmas”, “If He Walked Into My Life” and “Mame”.

Mame is a typical Jerry Herman show with catchy tunes and a pathos-filled 11 o’clock number for the leading lady. Let’s face it, Jerry Herman has spent his whole career writing 1920s-style star vehicles for women (with the exception of La Cage aux Folles, although that is a neat little inversion of his formula) and Mame is an infectiously bubbly show, although I prefer Herman’s score for Hello, Dolly!. We haven’t really seen an excellent Broadway revival of the show since the flop revival the show in the 1980s, although Christine Baranski earned good reviews in a production at the Kennedy Center in 2006. Perhaps its time to dust off this musical; it’s surely more preferable than making new jukebox musicals out of old Gershwin tunes, cf. the upcoming Nice Work if You Can Get It.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Mame. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

Posted in Jerome Lawrence, Jerry Herman, Robert Edwin Lee | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Chain of Musicals: GYPSY

Posted on January 3, 2012 by David Fick

GYPSY

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of GYPSY, click on the image above.

In January, Musical Cyberspace is going to work through a chain of musicals. This is how it works: each day I will discuss, in brief, a musical linked to the previous day’s musical by some kind of common ground. It follows then, that if you – dear reader – liked the previous day’s show, then you might enjoy the current day’s show. Comments, as alway, are welcome!

If you like Sweeney Todd, then you might like Gypsy.

Both Sweeney Todd and Gypsy feature lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, who explored moments when the protagonist’s mind cracks on stage in musical numbers in each show (cf. “Epiphany” and Rose’s Turn”). The original Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Angela Lansbury, played Rose to great effect in the original West End production of Gypsy, with Patti LuPone following in her footsteps in later Broadway revivals of both shows.

Gypsy tells the story of Rose Hovick, ‘born too soon and started too late’, who pushes her daughters, June and Louise, into careers in show business. When the show starts, June and Louise are a kiddie act in local talent shows. After selling her father’s solid gold service award and a chance meeting with theatrical agent, Herbie, who also becomes Rose’s lover, the act moves to vaudeville and eventually washes up on the tainted shores of burlesque, where Rose convinces the now grown Louise to become a stripper. Can there be any reconciliation for Rose with any of the people in her life after that final push? That’s the question. Highlights include “Some People”, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, “Together Wherever We Go”, “You Gotta Get a Gimmick” and “Rose’s Turn”.

Gypsy features on of the most complex characters ever created for the musical theatre stage. Arthur Laurents’s book crafts her in bold strokes, leaving room for Sondheim’s lyrics and Jule Styne’s score to fill in the character psychologically. It’s the perfect marriage between book, lyrics and score. The show has had at least one major revival or film in each decade since it premiered and it is quite something to examine how different actresses tackle the role. As regular readers of this blog might know, my favourite Rose is Angela Lansbury. How I do wish that somehow the film adaptation could have been a star vehicle for her.

So, now it’s time to share your thoughts on Gypsy. And what shows would you suggest to fans of this show? See which one we’ll feature here tomorrow…

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